/i  // .  4  ■  3¥ 


U.  S.  DEPARTMENT  OF  ACRICU/IVRK, 

BUREAU  OF  PLANT   INDUSTRY— Circular  No.  34. 
B.  T.  GALLOW  \Y,  <      ef  of  Bun 


HIE  WORK  OF  THE  SAX  ANTONIO 
EXPERIMENT  FARM  IX  L908. 


BY 


FRANK  B.  HEADLEY,  Scientific  Assistant, 

AND 

STEPHEN   II.  HASTINGS,   Farm  Superintendent, 
Western   Agru  olti  bal  Extension. 


i  ir.  :si—  09 1 


WASHINGTON  :  GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE  :   IBO» 


JM&titfri     ,~ 


U.S.  DEPOSITORY 


BUREAU    OF   PLANT    INDUSTRY. 


Chief  o)  Bureau,  Beverly  T.  Calloway. 
Assistant  Chic/  of  Bureau,  Albert  F.  Woods. 
Editor,  J.  E.  Rockwell. 
Chief  Cltrk,  James  E.  JONES. 


[Cir.  34] 
2 


B      P    l        181 


THE  WORK  OF  THE  SAN  ANTONIO  EXPERI- 
MENT FARM  IN  L908. 


j 


INTRODUCTION. 

Something  more  than  a  hundred  years  ago  San  Antonio  was  the 
center  of  a  little  Spanish  agricultural  community  that  depended  for 
it-  existence  upon  irrigation  by  diversion  from  the  San  Antonio 
River  and  some  of  its  tributaries.  In  the  early  pari  of  the  last 
century  this  agriculture  sank  into  insignificance  compared  with  the 
development  <>f  the  live-stock  industry  on  the  surrounding  prairies, 
which  became  the  interesl  of  paramount  importance.  Within  recent 
years  this  old  irrigation  has  almost  entirely  disappeared,  having 
been  replaced  by  irrigation  from  artesian  wells,  while  advancing 
settlement  and  reforestation  of  the  prairies  have  practically  ended 
the  regime  of  the  cattleman  on  the  open  range. 

h  is  only  in  comparatively  recent  years  thai  there  has  been  any 
extensive  agriculture  withoul  irrigation.  The  increasing  scarcity 
of  farm  land  to  the  eastward,  together  with  the  need  of  forage  and 
grain  crops  to  supplj  the  local  markets,  has  forced  attention  to  the 
possibilities  of  general  farming.  As  a  result  there  is  now  a  \<t\  con- 
siderable agriculture  without  irrigation  in  the  vicinity  of  San  Antonio, 
and  the  region  to  the  south  and  west  is  also  settling  up  rapidly. 

Cotton  and  sorghum  have  proved  fairh  well  adapted  to  with- 
stand the  periods  of  drought  that  so  frequently  occur  during  the 
growing  season,  and  these  constitute  the  must  important  money 
crops  of  the  "dry  farmers."  Winter  cereals  grown  for  hay  and  a 
little  corn  are  also  produced.  All  crop-  are  subject  to  great  fluctua- 
tions in  yield  according  to  the  season,  and  it  can  hardly  be  claimed 
thai  agriculture  without  irrigal  ion  is  yet  on  a  firm  basis,  even  though 
the  annual  rainfall  exceeds  that  of  a  large  pari  of  the  upper  Missis- 
sippi  Valley,  where  agriculture  is  well  established. 


ii  a  reporl  was  issued  outlining  the  work  carried  on  at  the  San  Antonio 
Experiment  Farm  in  L90*  l  ircular  No.  13,  Bureau  of  Planl  Industry  .  and  a  brief 
statement  of  the  work  planned  for  the  following  years  was  vixen.  Ii  is  the  aim  in 
the  presenl  circular  to  supplement  the  previous  one  by  giving  some  data  on  the  climate 
ils  of  the  San  Intonio  region  and  a  statement  of  the  more  important  results 
obtained  on  the  experiment  farm  in  1908      B   T   Galloway,  Chief  of  Bu 


SAX    AXTHNKI    KXl'KRIMEXT    FARAI. 


There  seems  good  reason  for  believing  that  a  substantial  and 
profitable  agriculture  may  be  developed  in  this  section  if  the  best 
methods  of  tillage  and  rotation  are  used,  together  with  the  crops 
best  suited  to  the  local  conditions. 

THE  CLIMATE  OF  SAN  ANTONIO,  TEX. 

The  average  annual  rainfall  calculated  from  the  records  of  the 
Weather  Bureau,  beginning  with  the  year  1878,  is  28.1  inches,  which 
is  about  the  same  as  at  Lincoln,  Nebr.,  or  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  but 
because  of  the  irregularity  of  its  occurrence,  the  compact  character 
of  the  soil,  which  causes  a  large  loss  in  surface  run-off,  and  the  higher 
evaporation  of  the  region  the  effectiveness  of  the  rainfall  is  lessened, 
making  the  country  semiarid  rather  than  semihumid,  as  at  Lincoln 
and  St.  Paul. 

The  summers  are  hot  and  with  a  rather  dry  atmosphere,  which 
results  in  rapid  evaporation  of  moisture  from  the  soil  surface  and 
from  the  leaves  of  plants.  The  winters  are  in  the  main  mild  and 
pleasant,  but  the  rather  frequent  occurrence  of  the  northers" 
during  this  season  often  results  in  hard  freezes. 

Table  I  gives  the  absolute  minimum  temperatures  and  the  dates 
of  the  first  and  last  killing  frosts  for  each  year  since  1892.  The 
lowest  temperature  recorded  in  this  period  was  4°  F.  in  February, 
1899,  and  killing  frosts  have  been  known  to  occur  as  late  as  April, 
although  in  the  majority  of  cases  the  last  one  was  in  the  month  of 
February.  The  sudden  changes  to  low  temperature  often  cause  great 
injury  to  fruit  trees  which  have  been  started  into  growth  during  the 
warm,  pleasant  days  of  winter.  For  these  reasons  it  is  unsafe  to 
grow  fruit  trees  except  those  hardy  enough  to  withstand  a  moderate 
degree  of  freezing  or  those  that  will  remain  dormant  throughout  the 
warmest  days  of  winter  or  early  spring. 

Table  I. — Dates  of  killing  frosts  and  absolute  minimum  temperatures  at  San  Antonio, 
T,  i.,  from  1892  to  1908,  inclusive. 

[Complied  from  the  records  of  the  fluted  States  Weather  Bureau.] 


\  I'll 

Last 
i  ring 

in.  i 

First 

autumn 

trost. 

Absolute 

mini- 
mum for 
the  year. 

Year. 

I.asl 
spring 
frost. 

First 

autumn 

frost . 

Absolute 

mini- 
mum for 
Lhe  i  eai 

1892 

M  ii      19 

Kel..       8 

Mar.  -••■ 
Feb.   27 

Feb.    1". 

Peb.     i 
Jan.    16 
l  eb.     6 

\|n.    L2 

Nov.    18 
\.a     24 

\,,v      .'ii 

Nov.  27 

Nov.  2S 
Dei 

Nov.  22 
Dee.       t 
Nov.  12 

°F. 
19 
26 
16 

11 
27 

IS 

20 
4 
19 

1901 

Mar.     ii 
Feb     16 

Feb.     IS 
Feb.     12 

Feb    21 

Feb.     ('. 
Feb.      s 
Feb.  20 

Her.     10 

Dec.    hi 
Nov.  18 
Nov.  12 

Hit          1 

Nov.  20 
Nov.   11 
Nov.  14 

°F. 
15 

1893 

1902  

26 

1SII 

1903     

111 

1895 

1904     

22 

1896 

13 

. 

1906     

24 

IMS 

1907    

28 

1833 

1908 

22 

19  ,, 

[Clr.34] 


SAN     \.\  |i>NI<)    EXPERIMENI     FARM.  O 

Talili'  III  gives  the  data  as  to  rainfall  and  evaporal  ion  for  1907  and 
(90S,  from  measurements  taken  at  the  San  A.ntonio  Experiment 
Farm.  The  measurements  of  evaporation  were  obtained  from  a 
galvanized-iron  tank.  8  feet  in  diameter  and  2  feet  deep.  This  tank 
is  embedded  in  the  soil  to  a  depth  of  is  inches.  The  water  in  the 
tank  is  kept  about  Is  inches  deep  and  the  evaporation  is  measured 
daily. 

By  comparing  Tables  III  and  IV  it  will  be  ooted  that  the  rainfall 
nt  the  experiment  farm  for  the  years  L907  and  L908  was  25.68  and 
26.80  inches,  respectively,  while  in  the  city  of  San  Antonio  it  was 
27.77  inches  in  L907  and  28.52  inches  in  I '.his.  The  rainfall  in  this 
section  is  often  extremely  local  in  its  character.  A  hea\\  rain  may 
OCCUr  at  one  point,  while  at  a  distance  of  1  of  .">  miles  none  falls. 
This  fact  accounts  for  the  frequent  discrepancies  between  the  rainfall 
records  of  the  Weather  Bureau  in  San  Antonio  and  those  at  the 
experiment  farm,  alt  hough  t  he  rain  gauges  are  but  6  miles  apart . 

Although  the  total  annual  rainfall  for  1!><)7  was  very  neatly  the 
same  as  in  1908  the  crop  yields  of  the  two  years  were  widelj  different, 
as  will  he  seen  by  comparing  the  yields  given  below.  These  yields 
are  the  averages  for  corn,  cotton,  and  sorghum  grown  on  the  rot  at  ion 
plats  on  the  experiment  farm. 

Table  11        Yields  of  corn,  cotton,  and  sorghum  on  On  San  Antoi  iment  Farm 

in  I'm;  and  1908. 


Crop. 


Yields. 


1!M)7. 


1908. 


Com bushels . .  1 7,  :> 

ol  ion pounds. .        377 

Sorghum  grown  for  forage tons..  :j.  1  it 


The  low  yields  for  1907  may  he  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  there 
was  little  rain  in  the  fall  and  winter  of  1906  7.  SO  that  a!  seeding 
time  in  the  spring  of  1907  sufficient  moisture  had  not  been  accumu- 
lated to  give  the  crops  a  vigorous  start.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the 
fall  of  1907  heavy  rains  fell  in  October  and  November  that  came  too 
late  to  benefit  the  crops  of  that  year,  but  t  hey  stored  up  a  large  supply 
of  moisture  that  gave  quick  germination  and  rapid  growth  in  the 
spring  of  1908,  and  the  heavy  and  timely  rains  in  Ma\  of  that  year 
broughl  the  corn  to  maturity  and  greatly  benefited  other  crops. 
The  point  i-  here  emphasized  that  the  amount  of  seasonal  rainfall  is 
onl\  part  iall\  indicative  of  the  crop  \  ields  for  the  same  season. 

[Clr.  34] 


SAN    ANTONIO    EXPERIMENT   FARM. 


Table  III. — Rainfall  and  <  vaporation  at  the  San  Antonio  Experiment  Farm  in  1907 

and  1908. 


Mouth. 


Rainfall. 


1907.  l'.ids. 


Evaporation. 


1907.  1908. 


January 

February 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

September 

October 

November 

December 

Total 

Monthly  mean 


Inches. 

0.56 
1.72 

1.70 
4.50 
2.81 

.31 
2.65 

.39 

.64 
2.98 
6.78 

.64 


Inches. 
0.47 
2.61 
1.27 
2.39 
5.44 
.88 
1.37 
3.79 
2.59 
1.62 
2.87 
1.50 


Inches. 
3.28 
2.80 

5.  58 
5.65 
4.91 
8.36 
8.61 
9.44 

6.  '21 
4.28 
2.35 
2.01 


25.68 
2.14 


.'I,    Ml 

2.23 


63.   lx 
5.29 


Inches. 

2  .".7 
2.46 
3.31 
5.  40 
7.01 

.  8.77 
8  23 
7.25 
6.11 
5.28 

3  26 
2.81 


62.  46 

5.21 


Table  IV  gives  the  rainfall  for  each  month  in  the  year  for  eighteen 
years,  beginning  with  1891.  It  will  be  noted  that  the  monthly  rain- 
fall from  April  to  September,  inclusive,  averages  over  2  inches  and 
that  in  the  remaining  months  from  October  to  March  it  averages  less 
than  2  inches.  If  the  rainfall  each  month  would  regularly  approach 
the  mean  rainfall  for  that  month,  as  given  in  the  table,  there  would 
be  no  reason  why  fair  crops  should  not  be  raised  every  year,  but  the 
rainfall  during  the  year  is  so  unevenly  distributed  that  the  yield  of 
crops  for  each  season  is  exceedingly  variable. 

Previous  to  May,  1901,  there  were  five  months  and  previous  to 
April,  1902,  there  were  six  months  of  drought.  The  year  1893  was 
a  year  of  low  precipitation,  but  the  distribution  was  of  such  a  nature 
as  to  be  favorable  to  spring  crops. 

Table  IV. — Monthly  precipitation  .at  San  Antonio,  Tex.,  for  the  years  1891  to  1908, 

inclusive. 
[Compiled  from  records  of  the  United  States  Weather  Bureau.] 


Year. 

Jan. 

Feb. 

Mar. 

Apr. 

May. 

June. 

July. 

Aug. 

Sept. 

Oct. 

Nov. 

Dec. 

Total. 

Inches. 

Inches. 

Inches. 

Inches. 

Inches. 

Inches. 

Inches. 

Indus. 

Inches. 

Inches. 

Inches. 

Inches. 

Inches. 

1891 .... 

5.  63 

1.38 

1.  is 

4.  57 

2.  36 

2.  16 

0.85 

1.06 

3.  60 

0.60 

0.92 

5.  73 

30.04 

1892 

1.51 

.71 

1   75 

.  16 

.89 

3.83 

.05 

9.09 

1.09 

1.  IS 

1.09 

I   16 

25.  81 

1893.... 

.11 

1.  11 

2.  It 

2.  18 

3.36 

1.90 

.  96 

.92 

.  10 

.08 

1.62 

.76, 

18.24 

1894 .... 

1.  12 

.52 

.80 

2.  65 

1.71 

3.09 

,60 

8.  55 

1.48 

.89 

*  T. 

.01 

21.75 

1895.... 

1.24 

3.97 

2.24 

.29 

6.  66 

2.09 

1.07 

1.90 

1.25 

1.43 

3.  38 

.55 

26.  07 

1896.... 

2.90 

2.  36 

.66 

2.73 

2.  7 1 

.61 

2.  69 

2.  96 

8.87 

6.  04 

.7!i 

.71 

34.09 

1897 .... 

1.  55 

,  15 

1.65 

1.84 

3.13 

2.19 

.28 

.40 

1.61 

1.35 

.43 

1.34 

15.92 

1898.... 

.  46 

1.16 

1.17 

1.46 

1.06 

7.  06 

2.  24 

3.  35 

1.32 

.03 

1.  31 

1    ,1 

22.  49 

1899 .... 

.38 

.31 

*T. 

2.60 

2.22 

4.32 

2  85 

.00 

..-■7 

1.31 

1.70 

3.  39 

19.65 

1900.... 

5.  42 

.34 

4.  35 

9.11 

4.47 

.78 

2.24 

1.05 

.'17 

2.94 

1.82 

.70 

37.  19 

1901.... 

.  11 

.71 

.54 

.  59 

2   17 

1.86 

3.79 

.96 

I  20 

.12 

.61 

.  15 

16.  14 

1902.... 

.70 

.  55 

.12 

2.  31 

3.14 

.02 

3  85 

.00 

2.  54 

3.  53 

2.51 

24.79 

1903 

2.39 

7.88 

l.A 

1.71 

1.95 

4.75 

7.  52 

.20 

2.96 

1.61 

*  t 

.82 

33.  1 1 

1904 .... 

.30 

64 

.16 

3.25 

5  93 

1.73 

3  50 

1.97 

7.71 

2.  86 

.24 

1.06 

29.  38 

1905 

,88 

l  62 

2.  74 

6.08 

■1.  11 

6.01 

2.82 

.51 

1.80 

1.83 

2.63 

1.56 

32.  59 

1906.  . 

.29 

1.07 

1  29 

3.94 

.  86 

.  62 

1.34 

2.  25 

1.71 

1.09 

1.33 

1.60 

20.42 

1907.... 

.80 

.78 

1.88 

3  77 

4.64 

.18 

2.68 

.80 

1.  11 

3  54 

6.  79 

.80 

27.  77 

1908.... 

1.01 

2.  12 

1.31 

2.87 

6.07 

.30 

.  66 

4,  27 

3,  92 

1.47 

2.  61 

1.61 

28.  "2 

Mean. 

1.52 

1.54 

1.42 

2.90 

.;    !) 

2.  12 

2.39 

2.40 

2.77 

1.73 

1.88 

1.61 

25.  79 

LCir.  .".4  | 


*  T= Trace. 


SAN    ANTONIO    EXPERIMEN1     FARM.  7 

SOIL  CONDITIONS  OF  THE   REGION. 

San  Antonio  lies  in  the  southern  extension  of  what  is  known  as  the 
"Black  Prairie  Region,"  or  the  "  I  Mark  Lands"  of  'Texas,  and  near  the 
northern  edge  of  an  area  known  geologicall}  as  the  "Rio  Grande 
Plain."  The  soil  is  mostly  the  result  of  the  weathering  of  limestone 
rock--  of  the  Upper  Cretaceous  period.  There  have  been  recenl 
alluvial  deposits  washed  down  from  the  higher  lands  northwesl  of  the 
city,  resulting  in  local  modifications,  chiefly  through  the  addition  of 
coarser  material.  The  typical  soil  is  a  hea\\  black  or  brownish  clay 
or  clay  loam. 

The  region  around  San  Antonio  has  been  made  the  subject  of  a  soil 
survey  by  the  Bureau  of  Soils"  and  t  welve  soil  t  \  pes  have  been  recog- 
nized, of  which  five  are  dill'erent  kinds  of  clay  amounting  to  10  per 
cent  of  the  area,  two  are  clay  loam  amounting  to  27  per  cent,  three 
are  sandy  or  silt  loam  amounting  to  20  per  cent,  and  two  are  sand 
amount  ing  to   13  per  cent . 

Analyses  made  in  connection  with  this  soil  survey  show  instances 
where  calcium  carbonate  constitutes  more  than  half  the  total  soil  mass. 

Tabli    V.     Percentages  of  Him    calcium  carbonaL  \insoilsinlh*  vicinity  of  San  Antonio, 
/'.     .  hu,  ing  an  unusually  large  Hun  conU  nt. 


\ustin  lino  sandy  loam. 

Do 
Vustin  clay. 

Do  

Do  

Do 


Soil  tyiK1. 


Xi. 


Per  cent. 

0  12 

•17.  0 

1    (0 

52. 1) 

1   - 

-    10 

0    Is 

• 

Is  36 

63.  1 

This  lime  occurs  in  the  soil  both  as  finch  divided  material  and  as 
gravelly  concretions.  In  the  former  condition  it  is  generally  dark 
colored  through  staining  1»\  decomposed  organic  matter,  while  in  the 
latter  condition  it  is  usualh  white.  The  concretion-  are  concentric- 
ally laminated  and  are  often  cemented  together  by  finer  material,  in 
which  condition  the  soil  is  almost  impervious  both  to  water  and  to 
plant   root-. 

On  the  San  Antonio  Experimenl  Farm  there  is  a  considerable  varia- 
tion both  m  the  chemical  composition  and  the  mechanical  structure 
of  the  soils.  At  the  south  end  of  the  farm  only  a  t  race  of  lime  is  found 
in  the  upper  12  inches,  of  soil,  while  at  the  north  end.  where  I  here  is  a 
slightly  higher  percentage  of  cla\  .  the  amount  of  lime  in  the  first  foot 
varies  from  7  to  23  per  cent.  One  of  the  "white  -pots,"  which  are 
found  so  commonly  in  the  black  lands  ,,f  this  section,  was  found  to 


Soil  Survey  of  the  San  Antonio  Area,  Ti  \.i-.  Field  Operations,  Bureau  of  Soils,  1904. 


SAX    ANTONIO    EXPERIMENT    FARM. 


contain  22.8  per  cent  of  calcium  carbonate  in  the  surface  foot,  while 
the  adjoining  black  soil  contained  only  7  per  cent.  Other  analyses 
gave  different  degrees  of  variation  between  these  extremes. 

Table  VI  presents  the  results  of  mechanical  analyses  of  three  soil 
types  on  the  San  Antonio  Experiment  Farm.  The  ''light  spot"  on 
field  B  5,  where  the  first  sample  was  taken,  is  one  of  the  typical  light- 
colored  spots  just  mentioned.  The  sample  of  dark  soil  is  representa- 
tive of  the  common  black  waxy  soil  of  the  section  and  was  the  soil 
that  surrounded  the  light  spot.  This  sample  was  taken  but  a  few 
rods  from  the  first  one.  By  referring  to  the  table  it  will  be  noted 
that  the  light  spot  contains  a  very  much  higher  percentage  of  lime, 
both  in  the  first  and  second  foot,  than  the  dark  soil,  and  it  also  con- 
tains less  organic  matter.  Analyses  made  bv  Dr.  L.  J.  Briargs  of  the 
surface  foot  of  these  two  borings  showed  percentages  of  organic  matter 
as  follows:  Light  soil,  1.42  per  cent;    dark  soil,  2.76  per  cent. 

The  samples  of  soil  taken  from  field  AB  S,  near  the  south  end  of 
the  farm,  showed  only  a  trace  of  lime  in  the  surface  foot.  While  the 
mechanical  analysis  shows  about  the  same  proportions  of  sand  and 
clay  in  this  sample  as  in  the  samples  from  field  B  5,  for  some  reason 
this  soil  is  much  more  easily  tilled  and  tools  scour  in  it  with  greater 
ease.  Locally,  it  is  known  as  "sandy"  soil,  in  distinction  from  the 
black  gumbo,  although  the  analysis  shows  little  difference.  Experi- 
ments have  not  yet  been  made  to  ascertain  the  relative  productiveness 
of  this  type  of  soil  as  compared  with  the  soil  that  is  richer  in  lime. 
This  diversity  in  the  lime  content  and  of  organic  matter  is  probably 
associated  with  the  irregular  growth  so  often  noticed  in  fields  of  sor- 
ghum, corn,  and  horticultural  and  other  crops. 

Table  VI. — Results  of  mechanical  analyses  madi   by  tin   Bureau  of  Soils  of  samples  of 
soil  from  the  San  Antonio  Experiment  Farm. 


Numl'rr  nf 
field. 

Character 

of  soil. 

Depth. 

Ca<  0  . 

Fine 

:!  ml. 

(  oai  m- 
sand. 

Me- 
dium 
sand. 

Fine 
sand. 

Yrt\ 
lino 
sand. 

Silt. 

(lay. 

l(  ."> 

Lit:ht  spot  .. 
Darl   soil 

Feet. 

1 
1 
1 
2 
2 
2 

7'.  ct. 

:  0 

Trace. 

23.  l 

11.4 

P.cl. 

0.5 

.1 

.0 

.4 
.  1 
.1 

P.cl. 
1.8 

1.2 
.2 

L.6 
.9 
.4 

P.O. 

2   t 
1.3 

.  S 
2.2 
1.3 

.6 

P.cl. 
23.  6 

i''  : 

23  2 
17.7 

21    2 

P.  ct. 

11.3 
10.2 
26.  4 

11.1 

24. .", 

/'.  ct. 
41.7 
47.3 

4'.  2 
28.  1 

/'.  ct. 
18.2 

it  5    . 

20  «• 

Mis       

2d  1 

1!  :> 

Lighl  spot.. 
Dark  soil.. . . 

23.  4 

Ii  "> 

2;  i. 

\  1!  S 

2.5.0 

THE    SAN  ANTONIO  EXPERIMENT  FARM. 

EQUIPMENT. 

The  San  Antonio  Experiment  Farm  lies  about  2\  mile-  south  of 
tin'  city  limits  of  San  Antonio,  Tex.,  on  the  Corpus  Christ  i  road.  It 
includes  125  acres  of  land,  of  which  about  100  acres  are  now  under 
cultivation.      The  farm  is  a  part   of  a  tract   of  land  belonging  to  the 

I  in-.  :;i  | 


s\N     \Mm\i,i    EXPERIMEN1     FARM. 


9 


city  of  Sm ii  Antonio  and  was  formerly  under  irrigation  by  the  use  of 
the  city's  sewage.  Sorne  years  since  another  means  of  sewage 
disposal  was  provided  and  the  use  of  this  tract  as  a  sewer  farm  was 
abandoned. 

The  farm  has  been  improved  by  the  erection  of  a  dwelling  house,  a 
barn,  a  seed  house  and  office,  a  greenhouse,  and  a  large  implement 
shed,  funds  having  Keen  provided  l>\  a  popular  subscription  through 
the  Business  Men's  Club  of  San  Antonio. 

The  working  force  consists  of  a  superintendent,  an  office  assistant, 
a  man  with  special  horticultural  training,  and  several  farm  laborers. 
The  farm  is  well  equipped  with  farm  machinery,  special  attention 


i      Sketch  showing  thi   location  of  field  i  San   Antonio  Experiment  Farm. 

having  been  given  to  securing  types  of  cultivators  and  other  machin- 
ery useful  in  conserving  soil  moisture.  The  sketch  of  the  farm  (fig.  1) 
shows  ilic  present  arrangement  of  the  fields  and  roads  and  also  the 
crops  on  the  fields  in  1908 

I  IN  ES    '  n     \\  i  >R  K    I   NDERTAK  EN. 

Cooperative  work  with  offices  in  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry  is 
being  carried  on  as  follows:  The  acclimatization  of  Central  American 
types  of  corn  and  cotton,  with  0.  F.  Cook  and  (i.  \.  Collins,  of  the 
Office  of  Bionomic  Investigations;  tests  of  varieties  of  forage  crops, 
with  ('.  V.  Piper,  of  the  Office  of  Forage  Crop  Investigations;  tests 
of  varieties  of  grains,  with  M.  A.  Carleton,  of  the  Office  of  Grain 
Investigations ;  tests  of  plant  immigrants  and  horticult  ural  crops,  with 
09  — 2 


10 


SAX    AXTOXIO    EXPERIMENT    FARM. 


David  Fairchild,  of  the  Office  of  Foreign  Seed  and  Plant  Introduction, 
and  William  A.  Taylor,  of  the  Office  of  Field  Investigations  in  Po- 
mology; life  history  studies  of  the  pistache,  citrus  fruits,  and  alfalfa, 
with  W.  T.  Swingle  and  Charles  J.  Brand,  of  the  Office  of  Plant 
Life  History  Investigations;  trials  of  olive  and  pomegranate  varieties, 
with  T.  H.  Kearney,  of  the  Office  of  Alkali  and  Drought  Resistant 
Plant  Breeding  Investigations;  and  tests  of  native  corn  varieties, 
with  C.  P.  Hartley,  of  the  Office  of  Corn  Investigations. 

The  results  of  these  cooperative  investigations  that  are  not  pub- 
lished in  the  annual  reports  of  the  farm  work  will  he  published  from 
time  to  time  by  the  cooperators  and  will  appear  as  special  reports 
dealing  with  the  San  Antonio  region  or  as  more  general  reports. 

In  addition  to  the  cooperative  work  mentioned  the  following  gen- 
eral lines  of  investigations  have  been  carried  on:  Tillage  experiments 
with  corn  and  cotton,  eradication  of  Johnson  grass,  and  certain  soil- 
moisture  studies. 


EXPERIMENTS    Willi    CEREALS. 


Grain  crops  have  not  been  commonly  raised  other  than  for  forage 
purposes  in  the  region  about  San  Antonio.  Wheat,  oats,  barley,  and 
rye  do  not  ordinarily  yield  well.  This  failure  to  set  seed  seems  to  be 
due  chiefly  to  the  prevalence  of  fungous  diseases  and  insects.  Rust 
appears  early  in  the  spring  before  the  grains  have  headed  out  and 
weakens  them  very  materially.  Work  is  being  continued  with  a 
number  of  varieties  of  cereals  for  the  purpose  of  studying  these  rusts 
and  other  diseases. 

On  November  8,  1907,  there  were  planted  on  the  experiment  farm 
in  one-fifth-acre  plats  three  varieties  of  wheat,  four  varieties  of  oats, 
and  a.  variety  of  rye.  The  rate  of  seeding  for  w  heat  was  60  pounds 
and  for  oats  55  pounds  per  acre.  Rust  attacked  the  wheat  about 
the  middle  of  March  and  so  sapped  the  vigor  of  the  crop  that  very 
low  yields  resulted,  as  shown  by  the  table  below: 

Table  VII.      Yields  of  varieties  of  cereals  at  tk*  San  Antonio  Experiment  Farm  in  1908. 


Yield  per  acre. 

Variety. 

Yield  per  acre. 

\  ariety. 

Grain        Straw. 

drain. 

Straw. 

Boswell  Winter  oats 

Bushels. 

0.0 

21  :; 

24.5 

37.7 

rounds. 

0 

1,  17il 

1,800 

1,720 

17  6 
7.0 
2.3 
3.0 

Pounds. 
3,630 

Rieti  wheal            

Fretes  wheal 

2,  160 

I .  :.7:. 

\  lipid's  Rustproof  oats 

1,300 

The  varieties  of  oats  tried  were  Boswell  Winter,  Culberson  Winter. 
Red  Algerian,  and  Appier  Rustproof.  The  Boswell  oats  were  so 
seriously  injured  by  rust  that  no  grain  was  produced. 

[Cir.  34  I 


SAM     ANTONIO   i  \ri  i;i  \i  in  i    i  \i;  \i.  II 

The  -i  c. i  v\  of  the  Ret]  Algerian  and  the  Appier  oats  was  so  weak  as 
to  cause  these  varieties  to  lodge  badly,  so  thai  t hey  had  to  be  cul  by 
hand.  The  straw  of  the  Culberson  oats,  however,  was  ver)  stiff  and 
i  lie  en ( in'  crop  stood  up  well,  giving  this  variety  considerable  advan- 
tage over  the  other  two,  although  it  did  qoI  yield  so  well. 

In  addition  to  the  above  regular  variety  tests  twenty-one  0.1-acre 
rotation  plats  were  planted  to  Texas  Red  Rustproof  oats  at  the  rate 
of  12  pounds  per  a  en',  which  gave  an  average  yield  <  I'  17.7  bushels  per 
acre,  while  three  0.1-acre  rotation  plats  were  planted  to  Galgalos 
wheal.  giving  an  average  yield  of  .">.ii  bushels. 

i  RIM  l\  rS    WITH    CORN  . 

Iii  cooperation  with  the  Office  of  Corn  Investigations  an  extensive 
test  of  corn  varieties  was  made.  The  varieties  under  trial  were 
lected  from  the  besl  that  has  appeared  in  the  corn  exhibits  throughout 
the  State  of  Texas.  Among  the  63  strains  that  were  tested,  some 
very  high  yielding  ones  that  seem  well  adapted  to  this  section  were 
found.  One-twentieth  acre  of  each  variety  was  planted  on  February 
28  "ii  land  thai  had  been  in  cotton  the  previous  year.  The  yields 
varied  from  20  to  64  bushels  per  acre,  the  variety  known  as  Laguna 
being  the  mosl  product  iv<\ 

In  addition  to  the  variety  tests  mentioned,  seed  of  five  varieties  was 
obtained  from  Sherman,  Tex.,  for  trial.  Table  VIII  gives  the  areas 
planted  and  yields  obtained. 

Tab-li    \lll.     .1  eas  planted  to  of  corn  at  the  San  Antonio  Experiment 

lields  obtain*  d. 


Variety. 


Chisbolm 

'i  allow  l  >ent 
ty  White 


plat. 


I 
0  151 


Bushels. 
51.  5 

42.  ."> 
42.  I 

t 


These  results  were  obtained  l>\  weighing  the  corn  after  ii  was 
husked,  estimating  70  pounds  of  corn  on  the  cob  to  a  bushel  of  shelled 
corn. 

White  Wonder  corn  was  planted  on  26  rotation  plats  on  fields  A  5 
and  I*>  5,  and  an  a\  erage  \  ield  of  25.3  bushels  per  acre  w  as  obtained. 

In  field  A  6  six  plats  of  corn  on  land  which  had  grown  millet  the 
previous  year  yielded  at  the  rate  of  32.9  bushels  per  acre,  while  four 
plats  thai  had  Keen  in  oats  the  previous  year  yielded  only  13.5 
bushels  per  acre.  The  decreased  j  ield  of  the  corn  on  t  he  oal  land  w  as 
probabl}  due  chiefly  to  the  action  of  cutworms,  which  reduced  the 
stand  of  corn  plats  fully  50  per  cent . 


12 


SAN    ANTONIO    EXPERIMENT    FARM. 


EXPERIMENTS    WITH    FORAGE    CROPS. 


Sorghum  is  one  of  the  surest  and  most  remunerative  forage  crops 
in  the  vicinity  of  San  Antonio.  It  is  highly  drought  resistant,  and 
when  planted  in  rows  and  cultivated  will  make  a  fair  crop  of  hay  even 
in  the  driest  seasons. 

When  sorghum  is  planted  thickly  in  drilled  rows  and  kept  well 
cultivated  during  the  summer  very  much  better  forage  yields  are 
obtained  than  when  sown  broadcast,  especially  during  the  drier  sea- 
sons. The  sorghum  hay  that  has  been  produced  from  cultivated 
rows  is  somewhat  coarser  than  when  broadcasted,  but  the  greater 
yields  obtained  from  row  planting,  particularly  in  dry  seasons,  more 
than  compensate  for  the  slightly  decreased  market  value. 

Sumac  and  Red  Amber  sorghums  proved  to  be  the  best  yielding 
varieties  tried.  Although  the  Sumac  variety  gave  but  two  cuttings 
and  Red  Amber  three  cuttings,  t  lie  former  variety  produced  the  greater 
quantity  of  forage  per  acre.  For  three  successive  years  Sumac  has 
been  the  best  yielding  variety  on  the  experiment  farm.  Its  stalk  is 
coarser  than  that  of  the  Amber  sorghum,  but  is  very  sweet  and  juicy. 
In  the  rotation  plats  the  Sumac  variety  yielded  13  tons  to  the  acre 
and  Red  Amber  7  tons,  from  three  cuttings. 

Table  IX  shows  the  forage  yields  of  two  plantings  of  sorghum 
varieties.  It  will  be  noted  that  the  yield  was  considerably  reduced 
by  late  planting: 


Table   IX. —  Yield  of  varieties  of  sorghum  grown  in  one-tenth-acre  plats  at  the  San 
Antonio  Experiment  Farm  in  1908. 


Variety. 

Planting  I 

Planting  II. 

S.  P.  I.  number. 

Date 
planted. 

Number 

of 
cuttings. 

Yield. 

Date 
planted. 

Number 

of 
cuttings. 

Yield. 

...do  ... 

2 
3 
2 
2 
3 
2 
2 

Tons. 
12.29 

10.  17 
7  12 
6.00 
5.  :ts 
4.  83 
4.38 

Apr.  23 
..do  .   .. 
do 

.do    .. 

.  .do  .... 

..do   ... 

...do.... 

2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 

Tons. 
6.  3 

1 7548 

Red  Amber 

4.29 

Orange 

Mar     is 

do 
...do.... 

...<lo  .... 

5  36 

17539       

Planter's  Friend 

Minnesota  Amber. 

5.  49 

20799 

:i.  22 

17569 

3.84 

18684    

Dwarf  Milo 

...do  .... 

4.74 

Millet  grows  well  in  seasons  having  at  least  an  average  amount  of 
rainfall  and  should  prove  to  be  a  very  useful  crop  in  the  farm  rota- 
tions. Those  varieties  that  mature  in  from  forty  to  fifty  days 
might  follow  the  winter  oat  crop  when  the  May  and  June  rainfall 
permits,  thus  securing  two  hay  crops  from  the  held  in  one  season. 
After  the  corn  crop  is  removed  in  July  advantage  might  occasionally 
be  l  a  ken  of  favorable  rams  in  August  or  early  September  to  grow  a 
late  crop  of  millet. 

I  Cir.  ::i  I 


SAN    ANTONIO    EXP1  Rl  MINI     I   \i:\l. 


L3 


A  large  number  of  varieties  were  given  a  preliminary  trial  in  This. 
a-  shown  in  Tabic  X.  The  Kniki  variety  produced  the  greatesl 
yield,  l)in  it  is  so  slow  in  maturing  thai  h  can  hardh  be  considered  a 
desirable  varietj  as  a  catch  crop.  The  bes(  variety  when  both  yield 
and  quickness  of  growth  are  considered  seems  to  be  the  German. 
German  millet  is  a  well-known  variety  in  this  country  and  seed  can 
lie  obtained  from  commercial  seed  sources. 

The  varieties  listed  in  the  following  table  were  planted  in  one- 
tenth-acre  plats  in  May.  1908.  The  land  on  which  they  were  planted 
was  fallow  throughoul  the  year  l(.»u7. 

Tabxi    X       \  lys  necessary  to  matun  several  varieties  of millets  grown  <it  th< 

San  Antonio  Exp>     rnent  Fan         1901        ',)    Held  of  hay. 


S.  P.' I.  number. 


Km ki  (Panicum  psi  I  i  podium) 

21287 Shama  I  Panicum  colonum  i 

-'-'(Ill ( ..-nil  hi  i  '//„,,•,„  /  

German  i  Chaetochloa  'fnlica) 

21601 Sanwa  ( Panicum  frurm  ntoci  am) 

Common    Chaetocl  

Km  •     ■  

Hungarian    Chai    -  

22427 Japanese  (Panicum  frumi  

_'J  tJ  i -  ID      '    '■  '       •  ''■■  

22570 Kill  ion  Dollai    i         Panicum  jrurru  ntaci  urn)... 

21074 Broom-corn  millet  (Panicum  i  

22422 Broom-coni  millet  <  Panicum  miliaa  itm) 


Yield 

to 

per 

mature. 

Tons. 

Ids 

76 

I.  93 

a 

1   71) 

52 

i  65 

122 

l  00 

48 

l. :,; 

10 

1.56 

43 

l  50 

15 

1.34 

43 

i  25 

47 

1.09 

4.") 

4(1 

.25 

Twenty-three  Other  varieties  of  millet  were  tested  in  rod  rows. 
The  best  of  these  are  being  grown  again  in  large  plats  where  com- 
paral  ive  \  ields  can  be  obtained. 

A  number  of  varieties  of  clover  bave  been  tried  during  the  past 
two  year-,  but  none  so  far  have  given  much  promise  of  value.  One 
variety  of  crimson  clover  (S.  1*.  I.  No.  18420)  gave  a  yield  of  1,240 
pounds  of  hay  per  acre,  based  on  the  results  from  a  one-twentieth- 
acre  plat. 

Cowpeas  were  grown  on  the  rotation  plats  following  corn  and  oats. 
to  be  plowed  under  for  green  manure.  Forage  yields  weir  nol  ob- 
tained, but  the  crop  made  a  rank  growth  and  would  have  yielded  a 
fair  crop  of  haj  . 

Bonavist  bean-,  made  a  ver\  favorable  showing.  The  ha\  yield 
from  these  beans  was  at  the  rale  of  2,560  pounds  per  acre. 

A  variety  of  ( 'ana da  peas  was  planted  in  the  fall  of  I  '.hit.  and  gave 
promise  of  being  a  verj  valuable  winter  crop.  The  vines  grew  to  a 
length  of  6  feel  or  more,  but  as  the  crop  was  lefl  to  mature  in  order 
to  obtain  the  seed  the  forage  yield  was  not  obtained. 

A  plat  of  Spanish  peanuts,  one-twentieth  acre,  yielded  at  the  rate 
of   I'll   bushels  per  acre.      The  peanuts  were  somewhal    -mailer  than 

[C'lr.  34] 


14  SAN    ANTONIO    EXPERIMENT    FARM. 

the  original  seed  from  which  they  were  grown,  and  in  a  considerable 
number  of  cases  the  nuts  were  not  properly  filled  out.  Peanuts  are 
not  likely  to  prove  profitable,  at  least  on  the  heavy  black  type  of 
soil. 

MEXICAN    SEEDLING    PEACHES. 

In  February,  1905,  at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  William  A.  Taylor, 
there  were  sent  to  the  farm  about  500  seething  peach  trees  that  had 
been  grown  by  Mr.  G.  L.  Tabor,  of  the  Glen  Saint  Mary  nurseries  in 
Florida,  from  seeds  collected  by  Mr.  G.  Onderdonk,  of  Nursery,  Tex., 
in  the  dry -land  fruit  regions  of  Mexico.  As  Mr.  Onderdonk  himself 
st  ates : 

The  object  in  getting  these  peaches  was  to  secure  for  the  Texas-Gulf  region,  which 
is  too  far  south  for  the  North  China  type  and  too  far  north  for  the  South  China  type  of 
peach,  by  selection  from  seedlings  of  Spanish  stock  in  Mexico,  a  type  which  would  fit 
conditions  as  they  exist. " 

These  were  set  out  temporarily  in  field  A  1  and  in  January,  1906, 
were  removed  to  field  D  3.  They  came  into  bearing  in  1908  and  Mr. 
Onderdonk  was  secured  as  an  expert  to  go  through  the  orchard  and 
select  the  individual  trees  that  gave  promise  of  being  worthy  of  fur- 
ther trial.  In  the  orchard  there  was  found  to  be  great  diversity  in 
the  character  of  the  fruit  and  the  time  of  ripening.  Peaches  began 
maturing  on  June  20  and  continued  until  October.  Several  of  the 
trees  seem  to  be  promising,  and  there  are  many  others  that  are  to  be 
passed  upon  during  the  coming  season.  Especially  interesting  were 
two  trees  of  the  Spanish  t}rpe  bearing  a  very  superior  quality  of  fruit 
and  one  tree  of  the  Chinese  Honey  type  heavily  loaded  with  fruit, 
fully  equal  to  that  variety  from  which  all  of  our  South  China  varie- 
ties are  descended. 

All  the  trees  marked  "undesirable"  by  Mr.  Onderdonk  have  been 
taken  out  in  order  that  those  remaining  may  have  a  better  opportu- 
nity for  growth.  Several  thousand  seeds  obtained  from  the  fruit 
crop  of  1908  have  been  planted  in  order  to  obtain  stocks  on  which  to 
bud  from  the  more  promising  trees  in  the  orchard. 

These  Mexican  seedling  peaches  seem  to  be  on  the  whole  better 
adapted  to  San  Antonio  conditions  than  the  commercial  varieties 
generally  planted  there.  This  is  particularly  true  as  regards  their 
ability  to  resist  the  yellowing  of  the  leaves  that  is  probably  induced 
by  the  excess  of  lime  in  the  soil.  If  they  continue  this  resistance  as 
they  grow  older  the)  may  prove  to  be  of  value  as  stocks  for  the  ordi- 
nary varieties,  even  if  they  yield  no  new  varieties  of  value.  Another 
point  of  advantage  which  seems  to  be  possessed  by  these  seedlings  is 
that  theyremained  dormant  throughout  the  winter  of  1907  S,  while 


"Mr.  Onderdonk's  expedition  lo  Mexico  was  made  under  the  direction  of  the 
(Mice  of  Seed  and  Plant  Introduction  and  Distribution  of  this  Bureau.  The  peaches 
were  distributed  under  S.  P.  I.  numbers  9320 and  9321. 

Ii'ir.  34] 


SAN    ANTONIO    !\l'i  i;i  \i  I  N  I     FARM.  15 

most  of  the  standard  varieties  blossomed  before  the  last  spring  frost, 
which  occurred  February  20,  and  as  a  resull  failed  to  sel  fruit. 

The  Mexican  seedling  orchard  seems  to  be  badbj  infested  with  a 
disease  of  the  roots  known  as  "crown-gall,"  or  "root-gall."  Notes 
were  taken  on  the  condition  of  the  roots  of  the  undesirable  trees 
removed.  Of  the  L78  taken  up,  98  were  apparently  in  good  condition, 
:;.">  were  badly  affected  with  crown-gall,  II  slightly  affected  with 
crown-gall,  3  dead  from  root-rot,  and  1  infested  with  nematodes. 

Crown-gall  is  one  of  the  diseases  prevalent  in  the  orchards  about 
San  Antonio.  It  is  easilj  identified  by  the  irregularly  shaped  knots 
appearing  on  the  roots  or  on  the  trunk  of  the  tree  at  or  just  below 
the  surface  of  t  he  ground.  After  the  trees  are  planted  nothing  can  be 
done  to  cheek  its  advance.  Preventive  measures  can  be  used  by 
growing  seedlings  in  soil  thai  is  known  to  be  free  from  crown-gall. 
Then,  before  transplanting,  the  roots  of  all  trees  should  be  carefully 
inspected  and  all  that  show  any  signs  of  having  root-gall,  or  crown- 
gall,  should  be  discarded. 

in  i  m.i     I  \ri  i:i\i  i  \  rs. 

The  tillage  experiments  outlined  in  the  previous  report  upon  the 
San  Antonio  Experiment  Farm0  were  continued  in  1908,  including 
an  experiment  to  compare  the  drilling  and  check-rowing  of  coin  and 
cotton.     The  following  results  were  obtained: 

Checked  rows,  I  I  feet  each  way,  31.9  bushels  for  corn  and  937  pounds  per  acre  for 
cotton. 

Drilled  rows,  I  I  feel  apart,  31  I  bushels  for  corn  and  1,040  pounds  per  acre  for 
cotton. 

Drilled  rows,  '■  '<  i •  -* - 1  apart.  S50  pound-  pcrm-re  for  cotton. 

(heck-iowed  cotton  yielded  less  both  in  1907  and  1908  than  drilled 
cotton,  while  check-rowed  corn  yielded  slightly  more  each  year. 
All  bough  t  he  results  of  t  he  t  w  o  \  ears  are  in  accord,  t  he  differences  are 
too  small  to  be  significant.  Check-rowed  fields  have  the  advantage 
that  they  can  be  kept  cleaner  by  cultivation  than  drilled  fields,  and 
it  is  believed  in  the  case  of  cotton  thai  more  boll  weevils  are  destroyed 
ly  the  heat  of  the  sun  when  the  cotton  is  planted  in  checks  than 
w  hen  it   is  drilled. 

Tin  early  "planting  of  cotton  compared  with  l<it<  j>/<intin</.  In  mm; 
and  again  in  L908  tests  were  made  to  determine  the  time  of  planting 
mosl  favorable  to  securing  the  besl  \  ields  of  cot  ton.  The  results  in- 
dicate that  too  earh  plantings  ma\  resull  in  lessened  yields  due  to 
the  checking  of  the  grovi  t  h  of  the  young  plants  l>\  cold.  Cold  weather 
occurring  after  the  cotton  has  germinated  lessens  the  vigor  and  con- 
sequently the  yield  of  the  crop.  It  is  to  be  expected  thai  the  besl 
time  for  plfinting  will  \  arj  considerablj  from  year  to  year,  according 
to  the  character  of  the  season.      In  L906  the  besl  yield  was  obtained 


ul. a  No    I  ■    B  ireau  of  Plant  Industrj . 


16  -  TO    EXPERIMENT   FARM. 

from  a  planting  made  on  March  23.  and  in  1908  the  best  yield  was 
from  a  planting  of  April  25.     Table  XI  gives  the  results  of  the  two 
-   os'  experiments. 

plant  cotton,  made  at  t: 
Antonio  Erperiment  Farm  in  1906  and  : 


V .-:  .  Date  planted.  Tie!  L 


Pormit.  190S.  Pounii. 

1.109  March  14 I.(K0 

1.230  March  T. 

1.190  Aprils... 1.142 





These  results  are  not  sufficiently  adequate  to  be  conclusive,  but 
they  indicate  that  the  very  early  planting,  sometimes  practiced  in  an 
endeavor  to  avoid  the  ravages  of  the  boll  weevil,  may  not  be  advisable 
from  the  standpoint  of  crop  production,  even  in  regions  infested  by 
the  boll  weevil. 

THE    ERADICATION"   OF  JOHXSOX    GB     -  - 

In  the  previous  report  on  the  work  of  the  San  Antonio  Experiment 
Farm  it  was  stated  that  the  cost  of  eradicating  Johnson  grass  from  a 
4-acre  field  on  which  oats  were  grown  in  the  winter  of  1  "■  16—7  was  only 
$  .25  per  acre  for  extra  cultivation  after  the  oats  were  removed  and 
the  land  was  plowed.  Another  case  was  reported  in  the  same  paper 
of  the  eradication  of  John-  g  ss  from  a  2-acre  field  that  had  been 
fallowed  during  the  winter  of  7,  s    vn  to  millet  in  the  spring. 

and  then  fallowed  for  the  remainder  of  the  summer  after  the  removal 
of  the  millet.     This  treatment       st  $1     v4  per  acre  for  early  sp: 
and  late  summer  cultivation  to  eradicate  the  grass 

An  additional  instance  showing  the  si  :'  eradication  can  now  be 
given:  A  5-acre  field  of  Johnson  grass  meadow  that  had  been  plowed 
shallow  in  the  fall  of  1907  was  kept  fallow  throughout  1908  by  cultiva- 
tion with  sweeps  attached  to  a  two-horse  riding  cultivator  and  by  the 
hand  hoeing  of  -  -  Dot  taken  out  by  the  cultivator.  The 
this  work,  not  including  the  cost  of  plowing  in  1907  s  $12  per 
acre.  The  increased  cost  of  eradication  in  this  case  was  probably  due 
in  part  to  the  greater  amount  of  rainfall  in  1908  than  in  1907.  The 
rainfall  from  March  to  October,  inclusive,  was  16  inches  in  1907,  while 
for  the  same  period  in  1908  it  was  nearly  20  inches. 

It  is  evident  from  thes  -  Its  that  in  attempting  to  eradicate 
Johnson  grass  it  is  cheaper  and  more  effectiv.  winter  crop 

of  oat  hay  than  by  keeping  the  land  fallow  throughout  the  y» 

en  a  heavy  crop  of  grain  is  on  the  land  in  winter  the  >      g     -  into  the 
summer  comparatively  dry.  which  severely  cl        -     ad  weakens  the 
Johnson  grass.     This  same  fact  applies  equally  well  to  isolate     - 
of  Johnson  g      -         elds    »f  cotton  or  other  crops.     It  is  both  expen- 

ICir 


-AN    A.\T"NI<>    EXPERIMENT    FARM.  IT 

•  ■  and  unsatisfactory  to  try  to  subdue  Johnson  gt  ss  s  ilely  by  cul- 
tivation. In  case  of  weedy  spots  in  a  field  it  would  be  better  t<>  plow 
the  spot  in  the  fall,  sow  it  to  oats  for  hay.  and  then,  if  the  following 

be  dry,  clean  out  (  i  re  tillage  or.  if  wet.  follow 

the   oat-   with   millet.     Half-hearted   cultivation   of  Jol 
makes  it  thrive  rather  than  injure-;  it. 

SUMMARY. 

Agriculture  in  the  vicinity  of  San  Antonio.  Tex.,  was  formerly 
limited  by  the  irrigation  available.  This  was  followed  by  stock 
raising  on  the  open  range  on  a  large  scale  and  more  recently  there 
has  been  a  considerable  development  of  crop  production  without 
irrigation  by  method-  of  cultivation  better  adapted  to  the  condition-. 

The  climate  i-  dry.  though  the  rainfall  equals  that  of  the  upper 
Mississippi  Valley.  The  -oil  i-  mostly  heavy  and  absorbs  t lie  rain 
slowly,  hut  i>  fertile  and  productive  under  good  till:  9 

The  San  Antonio  Experiment  Farm,  which  consists  of  125  acr<  - 
land,  i-  operated  by  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry  for  the  purpose  of 
investigating  the  local  agricultural  problei   • 

Yield  te-t-  of  cereals  -how  that  fungous  d  ind  insect  pests 

make  grain  production  hazardous.     The  best  variety  of  oat-  under 
test  yielded  37  bushels  per  a 

The  season  was  favorable  for  corn,  and  yields  of  more  than  50 
bushels  per  acre  were  obtained. 

Experiments  with  various  forage  crop-  showed  that  good  yield-  of 
Jiuin  and  millet  may  be  secured.     Sumac  sorghum  and  German 
millet  gave  the  best  results. 

-acre  orchard  of  Mexican  seedling  peaches  which  has  just  come 
into  bearing  gives  promise  of  furnishing  one  or  two  varieties  of 
peaches  that  will  he  well  suited  to  San  Antonio  conditions. 

Tests  made  in  planting  cotton  and  corn  in  drill-  as  compared  with 
planting  in  check  rows  showed  little  difference  in  yield,  while  in  the 
case  of  cotton  medium-late  planting  seems  likely  to  give  heiter 
results   than   very   early   planting. 

Further  experiments  with  Johnson  e  ow  that  the  eradication 

of  this  weed  by  clean  cultivation,  though  quite  possible,  i-  n. 
difficult    and    expensive    than    when    done    in    connection    with    the 
growing  of  crop-  that  keep  down  the  supply  of  -oil  moisture. 

Approved : 

.1  LMES  V.'ll  -  >\. 

s  cretary  of  Agi  icultv 
Washington-,  l>.  I  ..  May  21,  : 

34] 

c 


3  1262  08928  9614 


